


A Song of Love and Secrets

by DiamondsxStags



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Autistic Arthur Dayne, Autistic!Melisandre, Autistic!Ned, Autistic!Stannis, Bisexual polyamorous Sansa Stark, Cersei and Jaime are genderqueer, F/M, Female Jon Snow, Female Jon Snow is also autistic, I'll add trigger warnings when appropriate, Jaime is autistic, Lesbian Margaery, M/M, Modern ASOIAF, Modern Game of Thrones, Multi, Original character is an autistic queer woman of colour, Past Child Abuse, Sansa is autistic, This is gonna be a slow burn so sorry guys, Will include flashbacks to events prior to the beginning of the fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-08-26
Packaged: 2018-02-09 05:22:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1970544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondsxStags/pseuds/DiamondsxStags
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>15 years after the fall of the Targaryen business empire and the rise of Baratheon Corp., Robert Baratheon asks his old friend Ned Stark to be his adviser and right-hand-man to replace the late Jon Arryn. Ned, reluctantly, agrees and moves his family to King's Landing. But there is something he must do first...<br/>Joanna Stark is the daughter of the late Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, who both died during the collapse of the Targaryens. Ned, fearing for the life of his niece, persuaded Doran and Oberyn Martell to foster her until he returned to get her. Only two other people know of Joanna; Howland Reed and Codessa Smithen...<br/>Codessa Smithen is an old friend of Ned's, and an even older friend of the Baratheons. She hasn't been seen for 15 years, since she left with Ned and Howland to try and find Lyanna. But the word is, she's returning, but not everyone will be happy to see her...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One (Ned)

**Ned**

  It had been 15 years since Ned last saw Joanna, and what he saw made his heart drop. She looked so much her mother it mad Ned ache simply to look at her. The same grey-blue eyes, black hair. She even had a flower crown made of fake blue roses.

  Thus far, the plane journey had been silent. Joanna had either read or looked out the window, watching Dorne recede into the distance until it was completely out of sight. She had looked sad then, and Ned didn’t blame her. Dorne had been the only home she’d ever known and now she was leaving it behind for a strange land and strange people, with a man she had only ever known through the stories she had been told by Oberyn and Doran. Ned cleared his throat. “Joanna, are you excited to see King’s Landing?”

  Joanna was silent for a few moments. “I think ‘excited’ is overestimating it.” She said bluntly. “Have you ever been to King’s Landing?”

  “I did, I went to a school there.” Ned felt a part of his mind wander, back to the past... “I’m sure you’ll like it just fine. It isn’t as hot as Dorne, but it’s pleasant all the same.” He never could stand the heat. The clothes he had to wear, light and made of cotton, felt awkward and uncomfortable compared to the furs and heavy clothing he wore in the North.

  “I like the heat, I’m used to it.” Joanna removed her eyes from the window and looked at Ned. Her face was vacant. “Does your family know about me?”

  Ned shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “In a manner of speaking...” he cleared his throat. “Joanna, did Oberyn and Doran ever tell you why you were fostered at Sunspear?”

  She nodded, slowly. “Doran told me it was dangerous for me to be in Westeros...that people would want me harmed.”

  “People will still want you harmed.” Ned said gravely. “That’s why you’ve been in Dorne for so long, you were safe there.”

  “So why take me away?” Joanna interrupted. She didn’t sound annoyed or angry, just curious. “Why not leave me in Dorne if I’m safer there?”

  “Because I thought it was about time I spent some time with my niece.” Ned said honestly. “But as far as anyone knows, you are not my niece.”

  “I’m not?”

  “No, you are my bastard daughter; Joanna Snow.” Ned had spent days thinking of how he could possibly protect Joanna’s true identity and protect her. The idea of passing her off as his bastard daughter came to him when he saw Roose Bolton cooly addressing his own bastard son, Ramsay. Ned wondered why he hadn’t thought of it before. “I left you to be fostered in Dorne because that was where you were born and I have now decided to raise you with my own children.” It didn’t feel right to Ned to lie about something so big and important, but he knew it was for the best.

  “And who shall be my mother?”

  Ned had been expecting that question. “No one.” He said simply. “You will say you do not know the identity of your mother and I will not speak of her.”

  Joanna raised an eyebrow. “Do you think it will work?”

  In truth, Ned was not sure. Joanna had the Stark look, more so than his other children save for Arya, and could easily pass herself off as a Stark. What mattered was whether people would believe that Ned Stark had fathered a bastard. “We must hope for the best.” He said, honest but grim. “I must warn you, you may face some hostility from my children, but please be patient with them. This lie is for your own good. I made a promise to protect you a long time ago and I intend to keep that promise.”

_Promise me Ned..._

_Promise me Ned..._

  Ned wouldn’t be able to forget the promises he made if he tried.

  “You promised my mother, didn’t you.” Joanna spoke softly, watching Ned. He knew that she would only know about her mother through stories and rumours. Cat grew up like that too. He could only what must’ve been like for her, how it must be like for Joanna.

  “Yes. Your mother and...someone else.” Ned cleared his throat. It was never a good idea to dwell on the past. “You are my niece Joanna, my blood, and I intend to see you safe and sound.”

  “Oberyn’s like that too.” Joanna said. “He still hasn’t gotten over Elia...”

  “A lot of people haven’t.” Ned said mournfully. The ghost of Elia Martell and his sister haunted his mind and followed him everywhere he went. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. “We try not to...dwell on it.”

  It looked like Joanna was about to say something, about how the Martells do dwell on Elia’s death, but she didn’t. Ned wouldn’t have minded if she did; much of Westeros had gladly forgotten about Elia and her children and moved on with their lives. That seemed callous to Ned, cold. “How much longer until we get to King’s Landing?”

  “A few more hours.”

  Joanna kicked off her heeled boots and tucked her legs beneath her. “I’m going to get some sleep.” She rested her head against the seat and curled up, closing her eyes. “Wake me up when we land.”

  Ned nodded. After a few minutes, when it looked like Joanna was well and truly asleep, Ned quietly rose from his seat and went to the back of the plane where there was a phone. He dialled Cat’s number and waited. When she picked up, he took a deep breath. “Catelyn? I have something to tell you...”


	2. Chapter Two (Joanna)

**Joanna**

  Private planes were not unknown to Joanna. She had been raised by the Martells; the wealthiest family in Dorne and they had a few private planes to spare, courtesy of not only their inherited wealth, but also the wealth they accumulated through their various businesses. What was new was King’s Landing. Joanna had never gone beyond the Rhoyne. Her whole life she was afraid on setting foot on that mysterious land of Westeros, the home of her mother and father...and people who wanted her dead. Fear followed her like a specter, always reminding her that if she ever left Dorne, she would be on her own and she would be killed. It wasn’t a nice feeling. The Fear was still there, in the back of her mind, but she did her best to ignore it. She was safe. She was her uncle Eddard. She was safe.

  “Joanna, this is my wife Catelyn.” Eddard Stark said. He sounded uncomfortable. Joanna heard the call he made to Mrs Stark on the plane. She knew from what Doran and Oberyn told her that her uncle was a good man, an honorable man. He wasn’t one to lie. Yet here he was, lying right to his wife’s face. “Cat, this is Joanna.”

  Mrs Stark looked Joanna over cooly. Joanna had expected this. She imagined that Mrs Stark didn’t appreciate being told about her husband’s ‘bastard’ so abruptly and after so many years of marriage. Joanna felt sorry for her. “Hello Joanna.” She looked directly into Joanna’s eyes and she did not look happy.

  “Hello Mrs Stark.” Joanna never enjoyed eye contact and looked away, over at the other Stark children. Only one, a little girl, resembled Eddard, the others took after Mrs Stark.

  “These are my other children.” Eddard said quickly, wanting to diffuse the situation. “The eldest is Robb, and the eldest girl is Sansa, that’s Arya, Bran, Rickon, and that boy is Theon Greyjoy. We foster him.”

  A foster child. They had something in common. “Hello. It’s nice to meet all of you.”

  For a few moments, none of them said anything. The Stark children seemed to be looking Joanna over like their mother, Theon looked completely indifferent. The second girl, Arya, spoke up first. “Are you going to live with us now?”

  “Well, I guess so.” Joanna wasn’t sure how long she was staying with the Starks and she suddenly wished that she knew.

  “She is for now Arya.” Eddard said. “Now, how about we all head home?” He walked on ahead without waiting for an answer and the others were forced to follow.

  Joanna hung back, she didn’t want to intrude any more than she already had. However, Arya slowed her pace so that she was walking beside Joanna. “What’s it like in Dorne?” She asked. “I’ve heard it’s really hot.”

  “It can get hot.” Joanna said. “But after living there for a while, you get used to the heat.”

  “I don’t think I could stand the heat.” Arya said. “I’ve lived in the North and even in summer it gets really cold. Does it get cold in Dorne?”

  “It does but I doubt it gets as cold as it does in the North.” Joanna felt herself relax talking to Arya. “I hear the only place colder than the North is all of the land Beyond-The-Wall.”

  “Yeah, the only ones who live there are the Wildings. I don’t know how they can stand the cold up there.”

  The two of them talked as they walked out of the airport to the car that was waiting for them. Eddard and Mrs Stark were talking to each other in low voices while the other children ignored Joanna. Except Robb. He had glanced over his shoulder at her a few times but Joanna didn’t know why. It made her slightly nervous.

  In the car, Joanna sat far at the back again, with Arya sitting beside her. “What was it like being fostered by the Martells?”

  “It was nice.” Joanna said honestly. “Doran is a kind man and Oberyn is pretty easy going. I get on well with their kids.”

  “Did you ever leave Dorne?”

  Joanna shook her head, feeling the Fear rest a hand on her shoulder.

  “Why not?” It was Robb who spoke this time. He had turned his head slightly to look over at Joanna. “The Martells are rich aren’t they? With connections in Esos? How come this is the first time you ever left Dorne?”

  She couldn’t tell them the truth. Joanna shifted slightly uncomfortably in her seat and hoped they didn’t notice. “I never wanted to.” She said nonchalantly. “Dorne was my home and I never wanted to go anywhere else.” That was true, technically. Joanna had never wanted to go anywhere out of the Fear that someone would take her away and she would never see Dorne again.

  “I’m glad we’ve left the North.” Sansa said. Her voice sounded like a soft song and she reminded Joanna of Teyne a little bit with her pretty face and girlishness. “It would get far too cold, and now I’m closer to Joffrey.” She smiled and got all starry eyed.

  “Who’s Joffrey?” Joanna asked, feeling completely out of the loop.

  “Oh please don’t get her started Joanna.” Arya protested, but she was interrupted by Sansa.

  “Joffrey is the son of Cersei and Robert Baratheon and is completely gorgeous.” She said giddily. “He’s blonde and has green eyes and is really tall and he’s lovely!”

  “A spoilt brat is what he is.” Arya said sourly.

  “He is not!” Sansa said fiercely. “You’re just jealous because no one likes you and-”

  “That’s enough.” Eddard said sternly. “I don’t want you two fighting all the time.”

  Sansa glared at Arya before quickly turning her attention to Joanna. “Do you like any boys from Dorne Joanna?”

  Before she could stop herself, a face, white haired with a black streak and a petulant smirk, flashed through Joanna’s mind. It made her face flush but she tried to remain composed. “Not really.” She said breezily.

  Unfortunately, Sansa saw through her lie and notice the flush in Joanna’s cheeks. “There is isn’t there!” She grinned. “What’s his name?”

  Joanna hesitated. She didn’t like talking about him, but she could tell that Sansa wouldn’t take a ‘no’ for an answer so she decided to tell her what she was comfortable with telling. “His name is Gerold Dayne.”

  “Dayne?” Eddard said. “I knew a Dayne. Arthur.”

  “I’ve heard about him.” Joanna said. “Gerold doesn’t like it when people talk about him though, he has some kind of inferiority complex or something.” The Daynes were an old family in Dorne, much like the Martells. They were a little snobby though, saw themselves as being above the other Dornish families.

  “Were you two serious?” Sansa sounded excited and seemed to be bursting with curiosity. “How did you two meet?”

  “We met at this gala thing.” Joanna tried to sound dismissive, as if the whole thing hadn’t mattered to her. “It wasn’t really a relationship, more of a fling than anything.”

  “That’s still more than what I’ve had.” Sansa said wistfully. “Can you help me get Joffrey to like me?”

  “I’m sure you won’t need my help for that.” Joanna said kindly.

  That seemed to go over well with Sansa as it made her smile brightly.”Still, a little extra help wouldn’t hurt.” She glanced over at Arya. “Maybe you give her some help too.” She added snidely.

  “As if I want to attract a stupid boy like Joffrey!”

  “Joffrey is not stupid!”

  “Girls please!”

  Joanna sat back and watched Sansa and Arya argue with a bemused smile. Until she caught Mrs Stark’s eye in the rearview mirror. Her look was cold and harsh and plainly said that she did not want Joanna there. Joanna stopped smiling, and looked down, feeling a brand new specter rest their hand on her shoulder.

  Doubt.


	3. Chapter Three (Catelyn)

**Catelyn**

 

 “Why Ned? Why bring her into the family _now_ of all times?” Cat asked, hiding her burning fury behind cold rage.

“I’m sorry Cat, but Joanna is fifteen now, I thought it was time she spent some time with her family.” Ned said, not looking at Cat as he unpacked his clothes.

 Cat couldn’t believe it. When Ned called her and told her about Joanna hours ago, she thought it was some kind of cruel joke or a bad dream. She never in a million years thought that Ned would ever be unfaithful to her, ever. He had never given her any reason to think that. Until now. “Who is she?” She asked, trying to keep her voice even.

 “Who are talking about?”

 “Joanna’s mother!” Cat snapped impatiently. “Who was she?”

 Ned paused in his unpacking. He glanced up at Cat, meeting her eye for the first time since he landed in King’s Landing with Joanna. “That doesn’t matter.” Ned said softly, returning to his clothes.

 “It matters to me!” Cat snapped. “I want to know who my husband _cheated_ on me with so he could father a bastard!”

 “I said it doesn’t matter Cat.” Ned was much firmer now. He looked directly at Cat. “What difference would it make if I told you her name? What’s done is done and we must accept that.”

 “You mean _I_ must accept that! It seems you accepted it long ago when you left her in Dorne!” Cat spat. She was losing her temper and her voice was raising, but she didn’t care. She had been absolutely humiliated, and in front of her own children too! “Was she a Dornish woman?” She remembered what Ned had said in the car, about Arthur Dayne. He had sister didn’t he? Yes...what was her name? “Was it Ashara Dayne?” Cat demanded. “You seem to have been cozy with the Daynes!”

 “By the gods Cat I barely knew them!” Ned said exasperatedly. He ran a hand through his ink black hair, the same hair Joanna had and none of her children, save for Arya, inherited. That rankled Cat even more. “Cat, please, I understand that this must be difficult for you, but she is mine. All I ask is that you treat her in the same way you have treated Theon all of these years; you have never had a problem with him.”

 “Theon is not your bastard that you have hid from me for fifteen years!” Cat protested sharply. “He’s just the boy you keep to make sure his father toes the line!”

 “Gods Cat, listen to yourself!” Ned’s own voice was rising. “She’s just a girl Cat, she’s as old as Robb but she’s had something Robb never had.”

 “And what would that be?” Cat asked sarcastically.

 “A mother.” Ned said firmly. “Much like yourself.”

 That shamed her. Cat looked down and felt her cheeks burn as she considered what Ned had just said. Well, he _was_ right. She had grown up much of her life without her mother after she died giving birth to Edmure. Cat had grieved her mother for many years, and some part of her still mourned. That part was now telling Cat that she really should be ashamed of herself, speaking that way of Joanna. Cat had at least had some memories of her mother, Joanna had none for her mother had died after giving birth. All Joanna had was the blood her mother passed down to her. Despite that, Cat’s anger overcame her guilt and shame. “If you expect me to be a mother to her you have another thing coming Eddard Stark!”

 Ned sighed and tried to approach Cat. “Cat please-”

 “Oh no don't you 'Cat please' me!” Cat said fiercely while pushing Ned away. “She is of your blood, not mine! I’ll do as you ask and treat her like Greyjoy, no more no less.” Before Ned could protest, Cat strode out of the bedroom, leaving her suitcases full and untouched. Cat had only taken a few steps out into the hallway when she ran into Joanna herself.  Joanna jumped back, as if she was a cat that had had it's tail trodden on. She eyed Cat nervously with those grey-blue eye Stark eyes. Ned's eyes. That only made her temper fiercer. "What do you want?" She snapped, looking Joanna over again.  _'Why is she wearing that ridiculous flower crown? She's much too old to be wearing something like that!'_

 "I-I was just going to see Sansa." She stammered, not meeting Cat's eye. "She wanted to know how I did my make-up."

 For some reason, that angered Cat even more. Joanna had only been a part of the family for five minutes and she was already helping Sansa with her make-up? What would she be doing next? Helping Arya cause mischief? Cat hoped she would, it would give her a reason to let her anger out. "Well don't make a mess." She snapped. "And keep it age appropriate." Cat made sure that Joanna saw the distaste on her face when she looked over Joanna's glittery blue eyeshadow and thick, dramatic winged eyeliner. "I know that the girls in Dorne are a lot looser than a girls here but that is still no excuse for Sansa to run around looking like a tart, is that clear?"

 "Yes ma'am." Joanna said, still avoiding Cat's eye.

  Cat nodded. "Good, now get out of my sight." She said angrily. She had always wanted to say that to someone, and watching Joanna scamper off looking frightened made it even sweeter. It seemed that anger made Cat thirsty so she headed to the kitchen. It was very large and modern, with a little marble topped kitchen island in the center. Cat got out a glass and was about to have some water when she looked over at the fridge. She vaguely remembered Ned saying something about Robert leaving a gift for them in the fridge. Knowing Robert, the gift could only be alcohol. Cat opened the door. She was right. Laying right there on it's side was a bottle of wine. Cat pulled it out. A vintage red, from the Arbor. 1977. It was as old as her. Cat got out a wine glass and poured herself a tall glass and polished it off in just a few gulps. She sat there at the island, glaring resentfully at the bottle of wine as if it was the cause of her anger.

 Red wine. That struck a bell that slowly began to ring right at the back of Cat's mind. Why? Cat never drank much, and when she did it was usually champagne or a white wine rather than a red. The bell grew louder and louder, reverberating all around inside her head. Red wine...red wine...red...

_"When I turn eighteen the first thing I'm going to do is get completely smashed on red wine! Dornish, of course, none of that stuff from the Arbor."_

Cat gasped as the voice, one she hadn't heard for fifteen years, echoed inside her ears. Even after all these years, Cat could still hear the musical lilt and accent in the voice that had made it and it's owner so memorable.

_'No...it couldn't possibly...'_

 The voice suddenly sent Cat's mind racing. A face formed in front of her, as if out of smoke; round, light brown, with thick black hair that cascaded down in soft waves, and a large pair of double lided, grey-blue eyes.

 For a few moments, Cat felt her heart stop.  _'Yes! Of course! They were friends in high school...she openly adored him...she was with him for a year while he was looking for Lyanna...she's Dornish...'_

If Catelyn Stark had had the strength to cry and scream, she would've.


	4. February 3rd 1993

  "Ned! Stannis!" Both boys turned around as Codessa came rushing towards them, somehow managing to avoid colliding with anyone in her hurry to reach them. The two boys slowed their pace to allow the girl to catch up, and when she died she smiled broadly at them. "So, how are my two favourite boys?" It was the question she asked them everyday when she first saw them, without fail, no matter how much time had passed between them. It had become a tradition almost, and it was a tradition that Stannis and Ned readily accepted. Being the two favourite boys of the best looking girl in school was certainly a compliment.

 "We're fine." Stannis assured her, his lips forming a smile that could only ever appear in Codessa's presence. "How were your holidays?"

 "Brilliant!" She said happily. "I went to Dorne and stayed with my cousins, and guess what!" _  
_

"What?" Stannis asked, amused at Codessa's excitement.

 "My cousins are transferring here!" Codessa said in a burst of excitement. "You two will finally be able to meet them!" She stopped walking and began to flap her arms excitedly. Other students quickly dodged out of her way to avoid getting hit, but she paid them no mind. "I can already picture it, my two best boys helping show my cousins around and getting into all sorts of shenanigans!"

 "Shenanigans that won't break any of the rules I hope." Stannis said with a raised eyebrow.

 Codessa giggled, an almost magical sound, and smiled her Special Stannis Smile. "I make no promises." She teased, batting her eyes in the way she had seen other girls do when talking to a boy they liked.

 Ned had learned how to recognize Codessa's Special Stannis Smile. It looked like a normal smile to many, including Stannis himself, but Ned noticed little differences in it; the corners of her mouth always went up a little higher, her lips parted and puckered slightly, her eyes shone and they were completely focused on Stannis. Much like Daisy Buchanan, Codessa had the ability to look at a person and make them think that there was no one in the world that she wanted to talk to more than them; much like Gatsby she had a smile that seemed to say she was completely and unconditionally on your side and biased towards you. Both of those skills were used in the Special Stannis Smile to their full effect, making it known to all and sundry that Stannis was all that mattered to her, not just in that moment, but in every moment. Yet, despite all of this, Stannis never seemed to notice the smile Codessa had just for him. Ned wondered if he ever would.

 "It'll be nice to finally meet your cousins." Ned said. "You talk about them so much I feel like I know them already."

 "You'll love them Ned! You both will!" She enthused. She felt her arms getting tired so she stopped flapping them, but they did rapidly tap her thighs. "But enough about me, what did you two get up to?"

 "We just stayed at Winterfell." Ned said. "We didn't get up to much to be honest. Lyanna says hi by the way."

 Codessa blushed and smiled dreamily. "Well, when I see her I'll be sure to say 'hi' back."

 Ned briefly considered the possibility that Codessa had a crush on Lyanna. It certainly seemed like it. She looked at Lyanna the way lots of boys look at her, with adoration and just a hint of longing. Ned didn't mind Codessa crushing on Lyanna. Although it was practically certain Codessa would end up with Stannis, if by some bizarre twist of fate Codessa ended up with Lyanna instead, Ned wouldn't have minded.

 "And what did you do Stannis? I bet it was interesting." Codessa asked him, all eyes and ears for him.

 "Not really, Robert went to a lot of parties but I mostly stayed home." Stannis had always been the one to stay behind while everyone else ran headfirst into follies and watched the resulting carnage. "Renly has been asking after you."

 "Aw! Well tell Renly that I'll see him as soon as I can." Codessa adored children and Renly was her favourite child. She had a certain childlike innocence that most lost by the time they reached the age of sixteen, but she held onto it and it endeared her to children and made them love and adore her. "How is Renly, is he alright? Everything ok? He's still playing like usual?"

 "Yes, yes, of course." Stannis was often amused at how much concern Codessa showed for Renly, how adamant she was that he remain happy and hale and hearty. She was like a mother with the way she tended to him. "He's perfectly fine, just like always."

 "Good." When Codessa got like that, Stannis would swear that he could see genuine fear in her eyes. As if she thought something horrible would happen to Renly at any moment and she wouldn't be able to stop it. "Well we really should head to class now, I really don't want to start off the year late to class." She smiled at Stannis, that Special Stannis Smile again. "What do you have first Stannis?"

 "History."

 "Me too!" She said excitedly. "Ned, how about you?"

 "Westerosi Lit."

 "Well I guess we'll have to see you later Ned." Codessa gave Ned a quick kiss on the cheek and held Stannis's hand. "Let's go Stannis!" She hurried off, Stannis at her side.

 Ned thought he was seeing a glimpse of the future


	5. Chapter Five (Tyrion)

**Tyrion**

 

When Tyrion Lannister heard Robert say that Ned Stark was bringing his bastard daughter to brunch, he nearly spat out his coffee. "Ned Stark has a bastard?!" He asked incredulously. "Are you absolutely sure about that Robert?"

 Robert nodded, looking amused at Tyrion's expression. "Completely, he told me over the phone himself." Robert chuckled and shook his head. "Ah Ned, never knew you had it in you!"

 "Did he say who the mother was?" Tyrion asked, very interested in Stark's dirty little no-longer-a-secret.

 "No, damn him, he didn't say a word about her." Robert complained. "I must've asked him a dozen times but he always ignored it. I'll definitely try and find out though, there's no way  _my_ best friend is going to have a secret child without me knowing who her mother is."

 Tyrion sat back in his seat and shook his head.  _'Ned Stark with a bastard...gods be good.'_ "Where has he been hiding her all these years?"

 "Dorne. Can you believe it? He left her to be fostered in  _Dorne_." That made Robert chuckle again. "I'll bet anything that means the mother is a Dornishwoman. Like Ashara Dayne. Do you remember Ashara?"

 "How could I forget?" Tyrion said in that tone of voice he reserved for beautiful women he was fond of. Mostly he was fond of them because of their beauty, but it wasn't always the case. (Although it was with Ashara.) "Black hair, violet eyes, not to mention that phe _nomenal_ body of hers." Tyrion smiled as he remembered his days in high school, seeing Ashara in the hallways, but never quite catching her eye. At least, not in the way that he wanted to. "Brandon had to ask her to dance with Ned because he was to shy to ask her himself didn't he?"

 Robert laughed and slammed his fist on the black marble kitchen island. "I'd completely forgotten about that! Ha! Dear old Neddy, too shy to ask a girl to dance with him, but apparently not too shy to ask her to share his bed!"

 "Was she fostered by the Daynes while in Dorne?" Tyrion asked. "Because if she was, don't you think it's a little strange we never heard about her until now?"

 Robert stopped laughing and looked puzzled. "Actually, he said she was fostered by the Martells..." Robert trailed off and furrowed his brow. "So that must mean it wasn't Ashara, because if it was her, why leave her with the Martells?"

 "Why indeed?" This well and truly baffled Tyrion, and he wasn't baffled often. "If she was fostered by the Martells, then her mother must've been a Martell. But Elia never-" Tyrion cut himself off, both because it was a bad idea to mention Elia in Robert's presence, but also because something ha just occurred to him. "By the gods! Robert!"

 "What?" Robert asked urgently.

 " _Codessa_." Tyrion said, drawing her name out. "She must be the mother!"

 "No!" Robert said, sounding like a scandalized middle-aged woman. "She couldn't possibly have given Ned a bastard! She was mad about Stannis, you know that!"

 "She was also a Martell on her mother's side." Tyrion pointed out. "Not to mention good friends with Ned, and she was with him that year he was...well, you know, when he was away. That's plenty of time to become pregnant  and give birth and hand the bastard off to relatives to foster her. Plus, that would explain why she's been away for so long."

 "How could it possibly explain  _that_?" Robert sounded like he still wasn't sure about Tyrion's theory, but he did seem to be coming around to the idea.

 "Shame." Tyrion said simply. "This one time, at a party, Codessa told me she had done something she was ashamed of and she wanted to run away."

 "She told you that?" Robert asked, looking very surprised that Tyrion knew something about Codessa that he didn't.

 Tyrion nodded. "Yeah, she told me about it at a party once when she was drunk. I'm not sure if she remembers telling me about that actually." Tyrion felt a little proud, knowing a little tidbit of information about the girl that Robert thought he knew so well. "Maybe that's why she's been away, she didn't want to face the shame of being the Other Woman."

 There was some silence as the two of them considered the idea. "Now that you mention it...Codessa  _did_ get a little funny before graduation and spent a lot of her time with Ned...and she told me herself that she was very fond of Ned...by the gods...Tyrion I think you're right!"

 "I usually am." Tyrion said smugly. "But still, we should probably have a look of the girl before being absolutely sure. You never know, she may not look like Codessa at all." Tyrion finished his coffee and immediately poured himself another cup. Despite what he said, a part of Tyrion felt absolutely sure that his theory was right. Codessa may have loved and adored Stannis, but something definitely happened between them that made her distance herself from him months before graduation. No one knew what had happened, except for Codessa, Stannis and Ned, and none of them talked about it. It had completely rocked the entire student body; Codessa's love for Stannis seemed to be immovable, unchanging, everlasting. Well, it looked like they were all wrong.

 "What are you two talking about?" Jaime asked, sauntering into the kitchen and getting a coffee mug.

 "Oh, nothing." Tyrion said casually. "Just the possibility of Codessa being the mother of Ned Stark's bastard."

 If Jaime hadn't had such good reflexes, the mug would've shattered on the floor. "What?"

 Before Tyrion could explain, the doorbell rang and Cersei appeared in the kitchen, her three children in tow. "That'll be the Starks. Everyone go sit down." She said, ushering everyone to the table while she went to the door.

 Jaime sat right beside Tyrion at the table that seemed to be completely covered in food and leaned close to him and whispered "What's this about Stark having a bastard and Codessa being the mother?"

 Tyrion quickly filled Jaime in and whispered his theory to him. Like Robert, Jaime was a little skeptical, also pointing out how in love with Stannis Codessa had been. But Jaime could see how it could've happened and looked just as stunned as Robert. "Gods be good..." Tyrion was about to say more, but the Starks arrived in the dining room, cutting him off before he even began.

 "Everyone," Ned Stark said in that serious voice of his, "this is Joanna, she's my...other daughter."

 "Um, hello everyone."

 It was as if Tyrion was looking directly into the past. Joanna had pure black hair, flowing down to just above her waist, and gentle grey-blue eyes set in a round face. Her skin was brown, like many Dornishman's, her lips full. Hell, even the  _eyeliner_ was identical. There was no doubt about it; that was Codessa's child. Tyrion smirked in triumph at Robert and Jaime, feeling smug...and at the same time immensely sad.

 In truth, Tyrion hadn't know Codessa all that well. They ran in separate social circles, had different friends, different interests. All they really had in common was a few classes, and yet that was enough for Tyrion to feel connected to her in some way. Codessa had been one of those rare people who was kind and caring and good purely because she wanted to be; she didn't expect any reward for her kindness and always turned away any she was offered. She was gentle and childlike, with an innocence and sincerity that Tyrion himself had long outgrown by the time he had entered high school, yet she still had it. It made Tyrion curious. Everything about her made people curious; what was it about this beautiful, good, childlike girl that made you want to know her, to talk to her, to be in her world? Tyrion hadn't been the only one drawn to her, and yet she showed him more attention than she showed others, save for her two best friends Ned and Stannis. It had baffled Tyrion, but he was incredibly flattered and he basked in the glory that came with being the recipient of one of Codessa's sweet smiles and little hallway chats. Yet, even with those smiles and chats, Codessa appeared to be completely unreachable, untouchable, unreal. Then came the night of that party.

 Even in high school Tyrion had enjoyed going to parties, and being the son of the one of the wealthiest men in all of Westeros meant that Tyrion was never short of invitations. That one particular party had been thrown by a senior who's name Tyrion no longer remembered; it was possible he didn't care to remember their name. In fact, there was a lot about the party Tyrion didn't remember, not because he was incredibly drunk, in fact that party had been one of the few where Tyrion didn't get roaring drunk. The reason why Tyrion didn't remember most of it was because most of what he remembered about the party was his conversation with Codessa.

 ( _"Is it true you do crack Tyrion? I won't tell anyone, promise, I'm just curious."_

 Yes that's true.

  _"Do you have any on you?"_

 No, sorry.

  _"Fuck." Sigh._

I didn't know you did crack, or swore for that matter.

  _A laugh. "I do more of the latter really. In fact I've never done crack before, I just wanted to try it."_

 Why?

  _"Well I'm already smashed so might as well."_

You don't look smashed.

  _"Thanks."_

 But really, a nice girl like you shouldn't be getting mixed up in all of that.

  _Another laugh. Except this one was harsher. "I'm not a nice girl Tyrion."_

 Oh come now, that's not true, you're a very nice girl.

  _"I'm really not." Another sigh. Mournful. Regretful. "Oh Tyrion...if you only knew."_

Only knew what?

  _"The kind of person I was...you would never want to look at me again."_

Why would anyone not want to look at you?

  _A happier laugh, but no less harsh. Harsher, in fact. "I'm serious Tyrion, you wouldn't want to be anywhere near me if you knew what I've done."_

Are you alright? Do you need me to get someone?

  _"That's sweet of you...but no." A noise that sounded like a chocked back sob. "Oh Tyrion...I'm so ashamed of myself..."_

I'm sure it's not that serious, what could a nice girl like you have done?

  _"You don't want to know Tyrion...I wish I'd never done it...I'm so ashamed..." More chocked back sobs._

Hey, don't cry. A nice, pretty girl like you shouldn't cry.

  _"I'm not a nice girl Tyrion. I'm a bad one. I'm a very bad girl and I've done very bad things. Maybe...maybe it would be better if I left..."_

What do you mean if you left?

  _"Just...left. Went away and never came back. No one would miss me, after a while."_

 That's not true. I'd miss you.

  _"Oh Tyrion...you wouldn't. You wouldn't if you knew. But you musn't know, no one must know. I'm so ashamed Tyrion, it makes me want to run away."_

Are you sure you don't want me to get someone?

  _She didn't seem to hear. "Run away...run and never, ever come back. Because I did a bad thing...such a bad thing...no one would ever want to see me again..."_

I think I saw Stannis earlier, do you want me to get him.

  _The dam breaks. "No!" Almost a cry, almost a scream. "Not him! Not Stannis! Not! Stannis!"_

Ok then, not Stannis! But I think I should get someone.

  _"Don't get anyone! Oh Tyrion! Tyrion Tyrion Tyrion!"_

Yes?

  _"I...I think I should..."_

Should what?

  _She runs. She doesn't look back when he yells after her._ )

 Sometimes, when he was particularly drunk or high or just at a wild party, Tyrion thought back to that night. He tried not to. She had looked so...desolate. Hopeless. She really did look convinced that she had done something wrong. Something so wrong that she had to run away. On Monday, she had made no indication that she remembered their conversation, so Tyrion never mentioned it. She also didn't runaway. At least, not until after graduation, when Ned Stark returned to King's Landing with his sister in a coffin, Howland Reed at his side, and Codessa nowhere in sight. Ned said she had gone to Braavos, although he never said why. He also said she would return soon. She never did. Tyrion sometimes wondered if she really had runaway, left Westeros because of that supposedly shameful thing she had done. Tyrion still had a very hard time imagining Codessa could've done something bad enough that would require her to runaway, yet it seems that she had. The proof was sitting right across from Tyrion.

 He looked over at Robert and Jaime. They were looking at Joanna, completely gobsmacked. He raised an eyebrow and took some bacon and a bread trencher.  _'See? Told you I was right...still...it all seems so impossible.'_  "So, Joanna, where's dear old Ned been keeping you all these years?"

 "Dorne." Even the way she said it, wistful and happy, sounded just like Codessa. "I was fostered by the Martells."

 "So by Doran and his brother Oberyn?"

 "Not just them, their cousins too." She selected a peach and cut it up into slices. "Sendhil and Khan."

  _'Well then, that practically seals the deal. Sendhil would've done anything for her.'_ "You know I met them all once, in high school."

 "I know." She said, getting another peach.  _'Did she pass everything about her onto Joanna?'_ "Oberyn told me about it."

 "Oh? Did he tell you about someone else?"

 The atmosphere of the table, among the adults at least, became tense. Joanna sensed it and locked eyes with Tyrion. Usually, when someone looked at Tyrion, they felt unnerved by his face and his mismatched eyes, one green and the other black. Joanna showed no signs of discomfort. In fact, Tyrion was the one who felt uncomfortable. The resemblance was too strong for him to ignore, from the sound of her voice to the way she sat. "Like who?" Joanna asked, her tone measured but her body tense.

 Tyrion was about to reply when he caught Ned's eye. There was something in his face, something that told Tyrion that it would be unwise to continue down the road he was currently taking. So he took a detour. "Why, me of course!" Tyrion grinned. "Surely he mentioned me!"

 For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then a breath later, Joanna giggled and shook her head. "No, he didn't I'm afraid."

 "Well, looks like I'll have to fix that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think of the fic so far? Please leave a comment leaving any kind of advice you have to offer! Thank you!


	6. Chapter Six (Ned II)

**Ned**

 

 When Ned went into the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee, Robert followed and immediately questioned him about Joanna. "Well, out with it Ned, tell me who the mother is."

 "Why do you need to know?" Ned tried to stay casual, but he was very wary. He could never predict Robert's moods, the man had always been changeable and prone to mood swings, sometimes drastic ones.

 "Well Tyrion has had a guess and I think he's right." Robert stood right by Ned, staring down at him from his great height.

 That made Ned stiffen. Tyrion Lannister had always been intelligent, but surely he couldn't have figured out Joanna's parentage that quickly...could he? "What's his guess?" Ned turned away as he looked for the coffee, hoping Robert wouldn't notice how nervous he was.

 "He thinks that Joanna's mother is Codessa."

 If Ned had been holding something he would've dropped it and it would've smashed. Codessa? Tyrion Lannister thought that Joanna's mother was _Codessa_? "Why does he think that?"

 Robert chuckled. "Oh come now Ned, everyone knows you two were close, practically inseparable by graduation. Plus, there's no denying Joanna looks like her."

 Ned was baffled. Joanna looked like Codessa? He didn't think so. Yes they shared some similarities in appearance, but Codessa's skin had been browner while Joanna just had a tan from spending so many years in Dorne. "Codessa was in love with Stannis, surely you know that Robert."

 "I also know that in the months leading up to graduation Codessa stopped talking to Stannis and stopped coming over here." There was silence for a few moments. "Ned, you and I both know how devoted she was Stannis. She loved him more than I've ever seen anyone love someone else. She would've torn the world apart with her bare hands for him, she told me that herself. But then they stopped talking and no one would tell me why. Not even you." There was a sadness in Robert's eyes that made Ned feel guilty.

 "It's a private between them." Ned said. "I don't even know all of the details of what happened, and Codessa begged me not to tell anyone what she had told me, which really wasn't much."

 "It's been fifteen years Ned, I think you can tell me now."

 Ned shook his head. "No. I gave her my word, and you know I never go back on my word."  _Promise me Ned..._

 Robert sighed irritably. "Damn you and your bloody word." He opened a cupboard and took out a bottle of brandy and a glass. "Renly cried you know, after Codessa stopped coming over." He said, pouring himself a tall glass. "He yelled and screamed at Stannis and blamed him for Codessa not coming over anymore. He said he hated him and always will." Robert paused as he set the bottle down. "I think he still does."

 "If you're trying to guilt me into telling you what I know it won't work." Ned said firmly as he resumed his search for the coffee.

 Robert grunted. "Damn you." He downed half of the brandy and poured himself some more. "So? Is she or isn't she Joanna's mother?"

 "No comment." Ned could see that it would be convenient to make Codessa Joanna's mother, but he didn't want to lie any more than he had to. Besides, he didn't to drag Codessa into all of this.

 Robert raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead, he had another gulp of his brandy. "I miss her you know, I truly do." He swirled the liquor in his glass and looked down at it. It was one of those rare moments where Ned caught him being pensive. "She was a sweet girl and she made Stannis laugh which was enough to make her a permanent fixture in the family. She already was of course but that sealed the deal. Mother and father adored her, saw her as the daughter they never had and always wanted. Renly was still a toddler and he thought she was great fun and you know she loved him as if he was her own. Then there was Stannis..." Robert sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't know how the damn fool never saw that she loved him. It was completely obvious. The sweet smiles, longing looks, the way she always hung off his every word and acted like he was one of the Seven. Stannis is an intelligent man, but he's a damn fool too."

 "I remember." Ned said softly. "Did you ever notice she had a special smile for Stannis?"

 "Of course I did, I saw it all the time. She had a special look for him too, and a special laugh. She had a special everything for Stannis." He finished the rest of his drink, but he didn't pour himself another, nor did he put the brandy bottle away. He seemed to have forgotten all about it. "She spent so much time trying to get his attention, trying to get him to see her. You know, like  _really_ see her. She bought heels and make-up and dressed up. She was so beautiful, but he never saw. Or if he did, he did a very good job of hiding it."

 Ned just stood there and listened. Robert was right of course. When they were 16, Codessa's wardrobe changed dramatically. Before, she just wore normal t-shirts and jeans and shoes without any make-up. The most she ever did was wear a dress and lip balm for very special occasions. But then she changed. She became more feminine, started wearing skirts and shirts that showed cleavage Ned never knew she had. Her normal shoes became pretty flats or wedges or heels and winged eyeliner and red lipstick became something of a trademark of hers. "It happened after her cousins transferred." Ned said, suddenly remembering. "Do you think they put her up to it?"

 Robert shrugged. "Don't know. Wouldn't be surprised if they did. Gods, if they could see it then surely you'd think Stannis would, but he was still as blind as a bat." He turned to Ned. "Did he ever say anything about her to you? You know, anything about having feelings towards Codessa that weren't platonic?"

 "Never." Ned said. "I always assumed he didn't like her that way. Did he?"

 "I'm sure he did." Robert said confidently. "If he didn't, then he's a bigger fool than I thought." He paused and seemed to be remembering something. "You know, Tyrion told me that Codessa talked to him at a party once."

 "He did?" Ned was curious. He knew that Codessa liked Tyrion, she thought he was funny and nice and interesting, but as far as he knew they didn't know each other very well.

 "Yes, he said that Codessa told him that she had done something she was ashamed of and wanted to runaway."

 Ned was speechless. Codessa, ashamed? What could  _she_ have done? She was one of the sweetest people he ever knew, never talked back to adults, followed the rules, never so much as stole some gum. She had wanted to runaway because she was ashamed? "What did she have to be ashamed about?"

 "No idea." Robert looked just as confused as Ned and was frowning. "He wouldn't say. I doubt she actually did anything that bad though, you know how she was." There was another pause and Ned didn't speak, he thought Robert had something else to say. "I miss her." His voice was soft and gentle. Ned rarely heard him use that voice, even when they were younger. "I grew up seeing her face everyday, now it's been fifteen years since I've even spoken to her."

 "I know." Ned said sadly. "I miss her too." He sighed, and spotted the coffee out of the corner of his eye. He had forgotten that was why he had come into the kitchen in the first place. "I had no idea she'd be away this long." He started to make a fresh pot to distract himself from his grief.

 "You know, lately I've been thinking." Robert put the brandy away and the glass in the sink. "I still do business with her cousin Kelan, do you think he knows where she is and would be able to get in touch with her?"

 "I would think so." Ned replied. He hadn't thought about that, but then he didn't know Kelan that well. He was ten years older than Ned and by the time Ned was in high school, Kelan was being groomed by Codessa's father to take over Smithen Incorporated. "Why?"

 "Why else? I want to see her again." He stood by Ned. "It's been too damn long Ned and I'm not getting any younger. I could die tomorrow without seeing Codessa again and I don't want to take that risk."

 Ned understood. "Tell him to tell Codessa I miss her."

 Robert smiled and chuckled. "I will." He patted Ned on the back and nearly knocked him over. "Besides, I think she would want to see her daughter, don't you?"

 Ned had hoped that Robert had given up on that notion, but clearly he hadn't. Ned hoped that Codessa would play along and that he would get answers to questions he had harboring for fifteen years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I certainly wasn't anticipating giving Robert so much dialogue, but that was the direction the chapter was taking so I just went with it. I hope you all like it!


	7. Chapter Seven (Robb)

**Robb**

 

Robb didn't know how to feel about Joanna. He had been shocked at first of course, anyone would be shocked to discover that they had a half-sister they never about after fifteen years, and had decided to reserve judgement. Although, he had to admit, she did seem to be very sweet. She was polite to Tyrion Lannister and didn't try and look away whenever he looked at her the way other people would. She talked to him as easily as she talked to Sansa and Arya, who already adored her and seemed to be competing for her affections, much to Theon's amusement. Robert Baratheon had kept glancing over at her and smiling and making little jokes before he left with Ned to make some more coffee. That made Robb uncomfortable, especially considering Robert Baratheon's reputation with women. But he seemed to be genuine in his kindness and not looking for anything in return. Really, the only one who did have a problem with Joanna was Catelyn.

 Everyone had heard the argument from last night. It had reduced Arya to tears and Robb had to step in and comfort her while Theon stood a few feet away, looking rather awkward and not knowing what to do. Arya had thought that this would mean that their father would send Joanna away again, but thankfully he had said nothing of the sort. Robb could understand his mum's feelings, but he saw nothing wrong with Joanna. Throughout the brunch, his mum had avoided looking at Joanna, but whenever they made eye contact, she would give Joanna an icy look. After seeing it happen again, Robb decided to offer some sort of alliance with her. "Are you looking forward to going to school here Joanna?"

 Joanna seemed surprised at Robb speaking to her, but she recovered quickly. "I guess." She shrugged. "School is school."

 "How did you do at your last school?" Tyrion Lannister asked her. He had asked her a lot of questions during the brunch, about what she liked and how it was like to grow up in Dorne with the Martells that made Robb wonder why he was so interested.

 "I was pretty good." Joanna said with a smile. "I was no good at the sciences or math, but I'm great at history."

 "Really?" Tyrion exchanged a look with his brother Jaime, which Robb couldn't interpret. "Any part of it in particular?"

 "I really like the history of the Night's Watch." She said excitedly and Robb noticed that she had started to tap her hand on the table. "It's so fascinating because it started off as such an illustrious order of protectors of the realm who protected Westeros from the Others and the widlings and other things like that but they never got involved in any of the big wars and they had to swear a vow to leave their old alliances behind." Her hand began to tap rather rapidly, almost becoming a blur. "And over the centuries they just sort of fell apart and became dilapidated and they had to rely on criminals and peasant boys to defend the Wall and it wasn't as prestigious anymore and was basically just a joke and no one cared about them anymore when just a few centuries earlier it was still a big deal." Joanna quickly realized she was babbling and that her hand was making a racket and that all other conversation had ceased. She blushed, rather prettily in Robb's opinion, and looked down. "Sorry." She said. "I really like the Night's Watch."

 "There's no need to apologize." Tyrion Lannister assured her. "We are all passionate about something. My passions tend to veer towards books, wine and women. Joanna, do you mind me asking if you're autistic?"

 "I don't mind, and I am." Joanna said. "I was diagnosed when I was 12."

 "I'm autistic too." Sansa added. "Dad took me to a doctor when I was 11."

 Joanna smiled at her. It was a rather nice smile, warm and inviting. "It's always good to get diagnosed early, saves a lot of trouble." She said, before turning back to Tyrion. "How did you guess that I'm autistic?"

 "I knew a girl from high school who was autistic." Tyrion told her, his mismatched eyes focused completely on her face. "She even tapped things as a stim, like you."

 Joanna said nothing but the look on her face clearly said that she was holding something back. Just what, Robb couldn't possibly guess.

 Before Tyrion could say anything else, Robb's father and Robert Baratheon came back with a fresh pot of coffee. Robb didn't understand all the fuss around coffee, it tasted far too bitter for him, even when he added more sugar than was good for him. His father set the coffee pot down and Tyrion grinned widely. "I was wondering what was taking you two so long."

 "Couldn't find the damn coffee." Robert said as he sat back down beside his wife, who, Robb noticed, grimaced and didn't even bother to so much as glance at her husband. "And Ned and I wanted to talk and we got a little carried away."

 "Speaking of talking, I've had a nice little conversation with Joanna." He looked over at father, and Robb saw him tense up. "You know, you have a fine young daughter Ned."

 "Thank you." Ned said in reply, not looking at Tyrion. "But I can't take all the credit I'm afraid, she was fostered by the Martells after all."

 "Yes, she was wasn't she." Tyrion gave Ned a look that suggested that he knew more than what he was letting on. Tyrion gave that look to a lot of people, but Robb had the feeling that this time he really  _did_  know something. "Anyway, what were we talking about? Ah yes, school."

 Joanna nodded and, to Rubb's surprise, turned to him. "What's school like here?"

 "Oh, um, normal I guess." Robb was completely unprepared for the question and didn't know what to say. "Yeah just normal. We have all the usual subjects and whatever. I can't imagine how it would be different from school in Dorne." He suddenly felt really stupid and wished that he knew more about the school systems in Westeros and Dorne. "What was it like in Dorne?"

 "Well if it got too hot school would be cancelled." She said. "Once, three kids fainted because of the heat and we were all sent home. Still, that kind of thing doesn't happen often, and when you've lived in Dorne all your life you get used to the heat. This other time, it was about 15 degrees and we were all freezing."

 "15 dgerees is the kind of temperature you wish for in the North." Robb said. "It can get to below zero."

 Joanna shivered. "Below zero? Gods, I don't think I could survive. Sendhil complains about it being too cold when it's 20 degrees."

 "Sendhil?"

 "He's Oberyn's cousin, Sendhil Sand."

 "Oh." Robb knew that in Dorne, bastards were accepted and there wasn't as much stigmata towards them. In Westeros it was completely different; most bastards are never claimed and those that are rarely get to interact with their other family. The only exceptions Robb knew of was Ramsay Snow and Robert's bastard children, although it was hard to deny them considering they were all practically open secrets. And of course, now there's Joanna.

 "Well I think you'll find the weather here in King's Landing to be very agreeable." Tyrion said. "Never below zero and never so hot that people faint."

 Joanna sighed dramatically. "Oh dear, how well I be able to entertain myself if it doesn't get too hot for me to move?"

 Almost the whole table laughed, including Robb, who decided that he liked Joanna. And he hoped his mother wouldn't drive her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joanna's special interest is the Night's Watch because of obvious reasons. And I'm sorry if the story feels a little slow right now, I'm just building up to a lot of stuff. I also apologize for the delay, I've had a bit of a writer's block and I've been busy, but hopefully the updates will come regularly.


	8. Chapter Eight (Stannis)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little note: This chapter takes place a week after Robb's chapter

**Stannis**

 

 In the silence, Stannis gave Robert a hard look. "You're sure about this?" He asked finally.

 "Absolutely." Robert finished the rest of his wine, only to pour himself another glass. "Ned wouldn't admit it but you can see it all over the girl's face." He looked up at Stannis and tried to read his brother's face.

 Stannis revealed nothing, but inside he was crushed. Ned and Codessa...the thought was too much to bare. "Well, that's certainly a surprise."

 Robert snorted. "Ned Stark has a bastard daughter who's mother is almost certainly Codessa and you say that it's a surprise?" He shook his head and sighed. "I suppose you're right, it is a surprise. Who knew?"

 "Who knew?" Stannis echoed. Deep down, he wished Codessa wasn't Joanna's mother. Just thinking about it was painful and heartbreaking. Although he admitted it to no one but himself, Stannis was deeply in love with Codessa. They had been close friends since childhood and proved to be almost inseparable. They clung to each other the way children do when they realize they are different and have found someone else who shares their differences with, and the two proved to balance each other out very well. While Stannis was dour and serious, even as a child, Codessa was light and playful. By the time they left childhood behind, their bond had grown to be stronger than iron. Stannis never imagined he would ever have to live without her, and yet for the past fifteen years he has. "What's she like?"

 "She's rather sweet." Robert said fondly. "Not in the childish, naive way Codessa was sweet but still sweet. Myrcella loves her already and Ned's other two daughters seem to love her too. I expect Shireen will follow suit. How is she?"

 "Fine." Said Stannis. "She's settling into King's Landing rather well. I suppose she finds it a welcome change to Dragonstone.

 Robert snorted. "I'm not surprised, considering how desolate that place is." He downed his wine and patted his protruding stomach. "I don't know about you Stannis but I think I'm done here."

 "As am I." Stannis signaled their waiter to come over and asked for the check. They split the bill and left the restaurant. Stannis was about to get into his car when Robert placed a hand on his shoulder.

 "I meant to tell you," he said, "I've contacted Kelan and asked him about Codessa."

 "What did he say?" Stannis's calm tone masked his surprise and anxiety.

 "She's still in Braavos and he asked her if she planned on coming to Westeros any time soon because I want to see her." He paused and waited for Stannis for speak. After a few moments of silence Robert continued. "He told me that she told him she'll be here in a week." Robert gently patted Stannis's back. "Looks like we'll finally be able to see her after all these years." He smiled and for an instant Stannis saw Robert Baratheon in his youth, when he was muscled and toned and the second most popular guy at their high school. "I'll see you tomorrow at work Stannis." He got into his car and drove off, leaving Stannis standing outside the restaurant, his key in the lock of his car door.

 For a few moments, Stannis remained in that spot, processing what he had just been told. He didn't remember getting into the car, or driving to his new home in King's Landing, or even getting into the house. He only became fully conscious of what he was doing when he found himself sitting on his bed and going through a photo album that had emerged while he and Shireen had been packing to leave Dragonstone for King's Landing. Stannis flipped through the pages, his eyes roaming over the photos but taking none of them in, until they landed on one in particular.

 The photo had been taken when they were sixteen by Howland Reed, the new student (he had been at the school for just a few months and thus still had the title of 'new') while on a group outing with the rest of their friends. In the photo, Codessa was leaning close to Stannis, whispering in his ear that she noticed a lot of the photos Howland took were of Ashara Dayne and how cute she thought it was. She had been leaning so close Stannis could smell her perfume (Elizabeth Taylor's  _White Diamonds_ ). He didn't know when Howland took the photo but he had given to Stannis a few days later with a smile that Stannis couldn't read and he has kept it ever since. Every time he looked at it he saw a new detail; the way her dress clung to her body which at some point had acquired womanly curves, how her face looked under the shade of the tree they had sat underneath, how their thighs had been in contact and her lips were almost pressed against his cheek.

 Stannis carefully took the photo out of it's sleeve and fell back onto his bed, letting the photo album fall onto the ground. He held the photo close to his face and studied it for a long time. On occasion, Stannis would daydream about what his life would've been like if he had married Codessa rather than Selyse. Perhaps he would've been happier and would've had more children. It wasn't that Stannis blamed Selyse for his unhappiness and the fact that he only had one child, he knew that he was a hard man to live with and Selyse had fertility issues that weren't her fault at all, he just wished life had turned out differently for him and that Codessa had loved him and stayed in Westeros rather than runaway for reasons known only to her.

 Stannis rubbed his face and sighed, suddenly feeling unbearably sad. Not a day went by that Stannis didn't think about the last time he ever spoke to her.

 ("Codessa will you please talk to me? You know I can't read minds."

  _Silence. She avoided looking at him._

"Codessa, what happened? What did I do?"

" _Nothing. I just...I need some space Stannis." She wasn't looking at him._

"Why? What's wrong?"

_"You don't need to worry Stannis, really."_

"Codessa you're my best friend, of course I'm going to worry, especially if you're being like this."

  _"Stannis! Please! Don't worry about it! I just really need space right now to think about things."_

 "Ok well, you know you can talk to me, right?"

  _"I know." She didn't sound at all sincere._ )

 After that, Stannis waited for her to feel better enough to talk to him, but she never did. She only spoke to Ned and Howland. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, but he never pushed her. The result was that that was their last ever conversation.

  _'But she'll be back soon, Robert said so, and he would never say it if he wasn't sure.'_ All the same, Stannis didn't keep his hopes up. It had been fifteen years, which leaves plenty of time for people to change. Would Codessa have changed much in Braavos? He expected her to, she was a person after all, and people aren't static. He supposed that she would still be the sweet girl he knew, but she would've matured a bit. Perhaps even have children, she always did want children...

 Stannis checked the clock on his bedside table. 11:09. He needed to sleep. He took off his suit, tossed the clothes into a corner and climbed into bed, feeling a warm memory tug at the corner of his mind.


	9. February 6th 1993

 With a name like Storm's End, the Baratheon manor can seem to be more than a little daunting. However, having spent a large portion of her life in the manor and with it's residents, Codessa knew that that wasn't true at all. Some time in the middle ages, back in the days of kings and knights, there had been a castle that belonged to the current Lord Baratheon and was indeed called Storm's End, but it had been torn down sometime in the early nineteenth century and rebuilt as a stately manor and kept the age old name, simply because everyone was so used to calling the home of the Baratheons Storm's End, that it would be considered foolish to change it for any reason. To Codessa, it was like a second home, bright and open and as welcoming as her mother. She was greeted by the old butler, Cressen, who gave her a grandfatherly smile. "Hello there dear girl!" He said fondly. "My how you've grown! What do they feed you in Dorne?"

 "Mostly spicy dishes." She said, embracing him as if he was her grandfather. "It's so nice to see you again Cressen! Where is everyone?"

 "The kitchen, everyone's waiting for you." He walked with her to the kitchen, smiling and chatting with her. Cressen has always liked Codessa, she was a sweet girl and was able to soften Stannis's hard outer shell, an achievement few could boast of doing.

 In the kitchen, Cassana Baratheon was feeding little Renly peach slices while her husband Steffon was talking to Robert and trying to have a conversation with Stannis but wasn't really speaking. Renly was the first to see her. He gave a delighted shriek and waved his arms around, knocking peach slices to the ground. "Dessa!" He squealed, smacking the little tray in front of him and getting his hand covered in peach juice. "Dessa Dessa Dessa!"

 "Hello Renly!" Codessa cooed, going to him and kissing the top of his head. She looked down at the peach slices and smiled. "Look at the mess you've made!" She scolded light heatedly. She turned to Cassana. "I can clean that up while you tend to Renly if you like."

 "Thank you Codessa, that would be a help." Cassana smiled, thankful that Codessa had a helpful and generous nature and didn't let her offers of help get turned down easily. Cassana got Renly out of his high chair and carried him to the sink. "Naughty boy Renly, you must be careful next time."

 "Soree." Renly said, looking as mournful as it's possible for a two year old to look.

 Steffon laughed heartily. "He's a rambunctious little thing." He turned to Codessa who had just thrown out the peach slices and smiled. "Sorry you had to do that, but you know Renly."

 "I don't mind." She said breezily and she returned his smile. "It's nice to see you Uncle Steffon."

 "And you. Come on, give your godfather a hug!" He stood up and opened his arms, and Codessa obliged. He held her at arm's length and looked her over. "My, you've grown haven't you. You look like a proper young woman now."

 "Thanks." Codessa, very casually, got out of Steffon's grip, and took a small step back before smiling over at Robert. "Hi Robert." She didn't speak to Robert with the usual coy flirtatiousness other girls used, mostly because she had known Robert for too long and knew him too well to ever take on that tone with him.

 Robert playfully winked. "Hey." He did his own look over and raised an eyebrow. "Dad's right, you've gotten pretty-" he wolf whistled "-these days Codessa." He grinned, displaying marvelously white and straight teeth. "There must be something in the water in Dorne."

 "I guess so." She said, not quite meeting Robert's eye.

 "Dessa!" Renly, hands now completely clean, rushed towards Codessa and hugged her leg tight. "I miss 'ou!"

 "Aw, I missed you too little guy." She picked him up and kissed his forehead tenderly. "Guess what Renly?"

 "What?" Renly's eyes were wide and filled with curiosity.

 "My cousins from Dorne are coming to King's Landing and will be going to my school!" She said excitedly. "You'll be able to meet them!"

 As a two year old, Renly couldn't really grasp the significance of this, but seeing Codessa happy made him grin and clap wildly. "Yay!"

 Codessa laughed and kissed his cheek. She looked over at Stannis and gave him her brilliant, Special Stannis Smile. "Shall we go to your room now?"

 "Sure." Stannis got off his chair and passed Renly, who struggled in his brother's grip, to his mother. "Let us know if you need us." He said.

 Just as the two of them left the kitchen, Robert called out: "Don't have too much fun you too!"

 Stannis shot Robert a scowl over his shoulder, but didn't respond. He and Codessa went into his room, where Codessa flopped happily onto his bed. "Sorry about him." Stannis said as he sat beside her. "You know how he is."

 "It's fine." She assured him. She looked up at his ceiling and looked much more at ease than before. She turned onto her side and looked up at Stannis. "Can you believe we're at our second to last year of school already?"

 Stannis nodded solemnly. "It has come pretty quickly." He admitted. "Have you decided what you're going to do after high school?"

 Codessa shrugged. "Sort of. I do want to go to uni, but I want to go to Essos and write for a bit. But who knows, we'll see."

 "Do you want to work in your family's company?" Stannis lay down beside her.

 Codessa made a face. "Nah, besides, dad's grooming Kellan for succession and he's way better suited to it. He studied Business and Finance and Economics and everything, he'll much better at it than me."

 "Still, you must want some role in the running of it."

 Codessa shrugged again. "Not really. I guess I could do PR stuff, but I mostly want to write and settle down with a husband and some kids." She smiled playfully. "Have you considered who you might like as a wife Stannis?" She teased.

 Stannis blushed. He didn't dare say he had only ever considered marrying her, and instead casually shrugged. "Not really."

 "I like Selyse Florent." Codessa said matter-of-factly. "I know people think she's uptight, but she's really nice once you get to know her, just nervous and a bit blunt."

 Selyse Florent? Stannis had never considered her. "How do you know Selyse Florent?"

 "We're taking World Religions together." Codessa said. "Why, do you want me to set up a meeting?" Her smile was teasing, as was her giggle.

 "Alright little Miss Matchmaker, have _you_ found someone to settle down with?"

 To Stannis's immense surprise, Codessa blushed. Her face turned bright pink and she looked down at Stannis's blanket and began to nervously claw at it. "Stannis," she said finally, "can you keep a secret?"

 "Of course I can." Over the years Stannis had become privy to a lot of Codessa's secrets; her utter indifference to the family company, how jealous she was of Kelan who received so much of her dad's attention, her crush on Lyanna Stark and other girls at their school. Stannis could fill books with what he knew, but of course he never would.

 "It's a really big one." She said nervously, moving closer and lowering her voice to a whisper. "You have to absolutely swear you won't tell anyone, not a single soul, no matter what."

 "I promise you I won't tell." Stannis said.

 "Swear on something that matters." Codessa said firmly.

 "I swear on Proudwing that I won't tell anyone your secret." Stannis looked up at the falcon that was currently asleep in his cage. He had found Proudwing when the bird was just a hatchling, now he was almost fully grown and beautiful and Stannis's closest friend aside from Codessa.

 Seemingly convinced, Codessa moved closer to Stannis and whispered in his ear: "I kissed Arthur Dayne while I was in Dorne."

 Stannis was in a state of shock. He stared at Codessa, his mind racing. Codessa kissed Arthur Dayne? "How?" Was the only thing he could think of to say.

 "It was at this gala thing." She said, face still pink and still whispering. "I don't really know how it happened. One minute we were in the Water Gardens talking, next thing I know we're behind a tree kissing."

 "Kiss _ing_? So you two kissed more than once?" Stannis could hardly believe his ears.

 Codessa nodded. "Yeah. I guess so."

 Stannis didn't know what to say. Arthur Dayne was one of the most popular boys at their school, along with his best friend Rhaegar Targaryen. Arthur was very handsome, with platinum blonde hair and violet eyes that made him look like a Targaryen. He was athletic too, his fencing and horse riding skills came in second only to Rhaegar. With all of that, plus his family's wealth and social standing, which means a lot in their social circles, Arthur Dayne was quite a catch. There was only one hitch..."Isn't he dating Cersei Lannister?" Stannis asked, rather harshly.

 Codessa looked down, looking ashamed and making Stannis feel bad about speaking so harshly. "I know." She said, sounding very guilty. "But it just happened Stannis! I didn't mean to or anything!" She rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her hands. Slowly, she began to sob.

 Hearing his best friend cry and seeing her look so defeated was enough to melt Stannis's heart completely. He gently wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "Hey, there's no need to cry." He said soothingly, gently stroking her hair. "It's going to be ok. Do you think anyone saw you?" After a pause, she shook her head. "Well there you go." Stannis said. "I doubt Arthur will say anything, and I certainly won't, so it looks like no one will ever know."

 "You think so?" Codessa asked timidly, looking up at Stannis.

 "Definitely." Stannis said confidently. "You've got nothing to worry about."

 Codessa wrapped her arms around Stannis and hugged him tight. "Thanks Stannis, I knew I could trust you. You're such a good friend."

 There was nothing Stannis wanted more than to be more than a 'good friend', but if being a 'good friend' meant having Codessa in his arms, pressed against his chest, he didn't really mind.


	10. Chapter Nine Joanna (II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place a day after Stannis's chapter. Trigger warning for mentions of abuse, an abusive relationship and rape.

**Joanna**

 

 Thus far, Joanna had mixed feelings about school in King's Landing. Most of her teachers were nice, her history teacher Mr Luwin was certainly impressed with her knowledge of the Night's Watch, but Mr Thorne, the coach of the fencing team, seemed to have a personal vendetta against her. On the day of the tryouts for the team, Thorne got everyone to show him their skills, or lackthereof in some cases. Thanks to her upbringing, which involved a myriad of different lessons including fencing, Joanna easily defeated every opponent put before her. She expected Thorne to be impressed, instead he scowled every time she won and barked out orders for the other person to follow, often startling them and giving a Joanna a window of opportunity to attack. By the time she sent the last boy, who could only be described as 'built-like-a-shit-brick-house', crashing down, Thorne looked livid. "Well you must be very proud of yourself, Snow." He sneered at her. "It seems your father knew what he was doing when he packed you off to Dorne all these years." The others snickered and Joanna felt her face grow hot. That was another thing she discovered at her school; bastards aren't accepted as readily accepted in Westeros as they are in Dorne.

 One of the few highlights of her transfer was that on her very first day, she made a new friend. His name was Samwell Tarly and Joanna met him in English class. The two of them were seated together and hadn't said much to each other, they were too busy taking notes. But when their teacher, Mr Colemon, had to leave the class to talk to the principle Marwyn, Joanna saw Samwell open up the book he had with him. Joanna saw immediately that it was  _My Life and Other_ _Anomalies_  by S.L.A. Sand. "You like S.L.A. Sand?" She asked.

 Samwell jumped and looked almost frightened when he saw that it was Joanna who had spoken to him. "Um, y-yes, I am."

 Joanna smiled as kindly as she could. "So am I." And she pulled out her own S.L.A. Sand book; _And Now Their Watch is Ended: How the Night's Watch Fell From Grace_. "Have you read this? It's really good."

 Nervously, Samwell nodded. "I have my own copy at home." He said.

 Joanna decided that she liked Samwell Tarly. He was a little short and rather fat, but still very sweet and kind, if somewhat nervous. By the end of the period, the two had become friends and spent their lunchtimes with each other, talking about this and that, but mostly S.L.A. Sand.

 S.L.A. Sand was one of Joanna's favourite writers, which was frustrating as Sand was notoriously secretive and private; there wasn't a single photo of Sand and the only information you got at the back of one of their books was a few lines saying what they had recently published and what they were currently working on. Rumor had it that Sand's publishing house, The House of Black and White, knew who Sand was and had even met them, but The House of Black and White neither confirmed nor denied this. Regardless, Sand proved to be quite the cash cow for the House of Black and White; every book they published that was by Sand became a best seller almost instantly, although the latest did cause some controversy. A year earlier, the House of Black and White published S.L.A. Sand's latest book;a biography of Aerys Targaryen, the last Targaryen Mogul which according to the blurb had taken Sand almost ten years to write. The book,  _Behind the Madness: The Secrets of Aerys Targaryen_ , not only covered the life and death of Aerys Targaryen, but it also revealed secrets that Sand claimed to have gotten from a source close to Aerys, but would remain nameless. One of those secrets was that after Aerys watched a man die in the secret fiery pit (called 'the Dragon Pit' by Aerys) in the lowest level of the Targaryen home, the Red Keep, Aerys would go to his wife's bedroom, 'as Aers and Rhaella no longer slept in the same room by this point in their marriage', and he would, 'go back on the vow he made on his wedding day to love and protect Rhaella and raped her, sometimes rather savagely. She would plead Aerys to stop, cry out for help. But Aerys did not stop, and Aerys's household guard, who heard Rhaella's pleas for help, make no mistake, did nothing. They turned a blind eye and a deaf ear and did nothing.'.  Naturally, the book caused a giant scandal and proved to be an overnight sensation, even more so than Sand's previous books. Barristan Selmy and Jaime Lannister, the only surviving members of Aerys's household guard, denied having any contact with Sand and made no comment on the allegation Sand made about them not protecting Rhaella from her husband. While many wondered how Sand got this information, others were willing to believe it as Sand had proven to be a meticulous researcher for biographies in the past, and there were some who were willing to believe all the shocking claims Sand made as they seemed to be within the realm of possibility. However, it had angered Aerys's surviving son Viserys, and tried to sue Sand libel. Unfortunately, it's hard to sue someone who's face and first name are unknown and the suit was dropped.  _Behind the Madness_ continued to be a bestseller, just last month it sold it's one millionth copy, and it was in it's tenth reprint. There was no word as to what Sand's latest book was going to be, or when it would come out, but doubtless it will be a success. _  
_

"Are you alright Jo?" Sam asked. He and Joanna were having their lunch under a tree, where Sam was sitting while Joanna was lying down with her flower crown of plastic blue roses resting on her stomach. "You've been pretty quiet."

"My dad and Mrs Stark had another fight last night." Joanna confessed softly. (She hadn't told Sam the truth of her parentage; she didn't dare.) "A bad one. It made Rickon cry."

 "What were they fighting about?" Sam asked, although he had a good idea what the answer was.

 "Me." Joanna sighed. "Mrs Stark wanted to know who my mother was, she said she had a pretty good idea as to who it was, but my dad didn't say anything. He just told her that was done was done and there was no changing it." Joanna felt tears prick at her eyes and she blinked them away. "Maybe I should go back to Dorne." She said. "At least I'll be accepted there."

 "You can't go back to Dorne!" Sam said frantically. "You're my only friend, without you I'll go back to being the sad, friendless fat kid. And I'll tell you right now Jo I don't want to go back to being that kid."

 Sam had sounded so forceful it made Joanna laugh. She rolled over onto her side and smiled at Sam. "Alright then," she said, "I won't go back."

 Sam looked relieved and smiled. "You know, if that happens again, you could sneak out and we could, I don't know, hang out?"

 Joanna smiled. "I like the sound of that." She said. "How are things with you?"

 "Well as long as Dickon occupies my dad's time, I'm fine." He said. "He leaves me alone to do as I please. It's when he decides to pay attention to me that things get bad." Sam grimaced. "He tried to get me to ride a horse yesterday. Big mistake. The horse could tell I was afraid and wouldn't go near me, and when I finally got on it bucked me off."

 That was another thing that connected Joanna and Sam; their home lives were less than stellar. Joanna had to endure icy stares and cool words from Mrs Stark, and Sam had to put up with his father's endless verbal abuse, for Sam was not the son that Randyll Tarly wanted and over the years, Randyll had grown to loathe Sam because of it. Joanna and Sam didn't talk about their home lives to anyone except each other, as they didn't think anyone else would understand.

 "If you do go to Dorne, would you take me with you?" Sam asked timidly.

 Joanna smiled. "Of course I would."

 Sam smiled back.

* * *

 

 When Joanna returned home from school, she went straight to her room and tried to avoid Mrs Stark as much as possible. Once in her room, she kept the door closed and put up a Do-Not-Disturb sign for good measure. She put on some music and did what she felt like. After talking to Sam about Dorne, she was feeling homesick, so she put on some Kanye ( _Yeezus_ ), went on to her laptop and logged onto Skype. When she saw that Arianne was online too, she immediately clicked the video call button. Arianne replied almost instantly.

 "Hey Jo! Gods, it feels like it's been _ages_."

 Joanna smiled. "I know right?" Arianne was Doran's daughter and along with Oberyn's older daughters had been like an older sister to Joanna. Arianne was beautiful; olive skin, thick black hair that fell down her back, big dark eyes. And she had a rack to die for. Joanna's bust was pretty ample, enough to make boys look down during those seldom times when she did talk to them, but they were nothing compared to Arianne's. But she was short too, just standing 5'2'' and it wasn't long until Joanna was taller than her. Still, Joanna saw Arianne as the cool older sister who gave her advice about make up ("Make up is used to enhance, not conceal."), school ("It is hard, but you're a smart girl like the rest of use so you should be fine. And if not, I'm here to help."), and boys. ("They're barely worth your time to be honest Jo. But if you find one who's genuinely nice and sweet then keep a hold of him before someone else grabs him.") "How is everyone?"

 "Sarella's still doing good at the Citadel." Arianne said with a hint of pride (Sarella Sand, one of Oberyn's daughters, had applied to the Citadel, an academy that was strictly for boys, under the name Alleras and got in.), "None of them suspect a thing, and they're supposed to be the brightest minds of Westeros." Arianne laughed. "Obara was at a rally the other day and she saw these guys harassing a girl about your age. She sorted them out in ten seconds flat."

 Joanna laughed. "Tell her I said good job!"

 "Will do! Now, how about you?" Arianne moved a little closer to the camera and grinned. "How's life with the Starks?"

 Joanna hesitated slightly. She knew that if she told Arianne about Mrs Stark, she would tell Doran and he would tell Oberyn and the Gods only knew what Oberyn would do. So Joanna fell back on her usual tactic: she lied. "Everything's great!" She said enthusiastically. "Uncle Ned's daughters Sansa and Arya are nice, and it turns out Sansa's autistic too."

 "That's nice, you'll have someone to talk to." Arianne said brightly, apparently not noticing Joanna's hesitation. "What about school?"

 Joanna grimaced and she told Arianne about Mr Thorne. "I honestly don't know what I've done!" She complained. "All I did was show up and do well!"

 Arianne snorted. "That's men for you." She complained. "The second a girl shows up and does better than them at something they complain and grumble like little boys."

 "I know, it's horrible, I'm beginning to regret joining the team. All the other boys hate me too."

 "Well then looks like you'll either have to quit or keep going and show them that you can give as good as you get." Arianne looked at Joanna intensely, her eyes burning. "Which one will it be?"

 "There's no way I'm quitting." Joanna said firmly. "I don't want to give Thorne the satisfaction."

 "Good." Said Arianne approvingly. "Has anything good happened at your school?"

 "I made a new friend!" Joanna said brightly and she told Arianne all about Sam, doing a huge info dump and it wasn't until she was finished that Joanna realized that she had been stimming with her hand. She blushed and smiled sheepishly, but Arianne just laughed.

 "Looks like this Samwell Tarly has cast quiet a spell on you." Arianne teased. "Will we get to meet him?"

 "I hope so, he has said that he's always wanted to see Dorne, and I bet Doran will love him." Joanna said, her enthusiasm returning.

 "I bet." Arianne laughed. "It's nice to see you so happy. We've all been a little worried about you, going off on your own, especially after everything that happened with Ger-"

 "I'm fine." Joanna said quickly. "Honestly. You don't need to worry about me."

 Arianne looked skeptical, but she let the matter drop. "It's been great talking to you Jo, but I have to go doll, I've got some stuff to do."

 "Oh." Joanna felt disappointed, she still had so much more to tell Arianne. "Ok then, can we set up another time for us to talk?"

 "I'll email you ok?" Arianne smiled. "Look after yourself ok Jo?"

 "I will, I promise." Joanna said sincerely.

 "Good, see you later."

 "Bye." Joanna hung up and as Arianne's face disappeared from the screen, Joanna felt a plunging feeling in her heart. She hadn't realized how much she missed Dorne and everyone until now and she felt her chest grow tight and tears well up in her eyes. Knowing she was safe and hidden in her room, Joanna collapsed onto her bed and cried, her pillow and Kanye thankfully drowning out the sounds of her sobs.


	11. Ned (III)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during the same day as Joanna's.

**Ned**

 

 The last time Ned saw Kelan Smithen was when old Aerys Targaryen's multi-billion dollar empire had come crashing down and Robert had called meeting with all of the CEOs of the other important companies. Kelan had sat on Robert's right, Stannis on Robert's left. Kelan had been in his mid-thirties at the time, one of the eldest CEOs there and he had regarded everything with a detached coolness that Ned didn't like. Kelan had always been aloof, even a little arrogant, and had little time for those he considered beneath him, including those younger than him. But he had been patient with Robert and nodded and agreed to continue the partnership between Baratheon and Smithen had started long ago, longer than anyone cared to remember. Kelan had said that he was fine with continuing on as normal, as if nothing had happened. As if one of Westeros's oldest and greatest families hadn't completely collapsed resulting in thousands of lay-offs, a devastating market crash, and even a few deaths. He hadn't seemed that bothered by Codessa fleeing to Braavos either. "She's always been a little fanciful and whimsical." He had said breezily, as if they were discussing a small child who had asked to have a unicorn for a pet. "She'll be back in a month or two, once she gets over this newest flight of fancy of hers."

 Except she hadn't. Kelan himself admitted that all he got from Codessa was sporadic emails, which varied in length; some were ten pages long or more, others just three words. But he hadn't been bothered by that at all, at least that's what he told Ned when they met up for lunch. "She's a big girl now." Kelan said, with that same breezy tone of voice he had used fifteen years ago. "She's perfectly capable of looking after herself."

 "And she is doing well?" Ned asked, sipping his coffee and trying not to look disturbed as Kelan's lack of concern.

 Kelan snorted as if Ned had said something utterly ridiculous. "Her parents left her a trust fund which she could access when she was eighteen or when they died, whichever came first. When they died she inherited millions, trust me Ned she's doing much better than just 'fine'." He took a bite of his croissant, taking special care to not get any crumbs on his very fine charcoal grey suit. "Plus, she told me she has her own source of income and has been getting by rather well. I don't know what she does but as long as she stays out of trouble I don't care."

 Ned had long thought he would never experience anything colder than a Northern winter. Kelan had throughly disproved that theory. "Surely you must miss her though? It's been fifteen years."

 Kelan raised an eyebrow and seemed to be amused. "You really don't know about Codessa and I do you." He said. "She and I have never been close. In fact, she was jealous of me."

 "Jealous? Why?"

 "Because I got more attention than her." He didn't saw it with his usual cold arrogance, he stated it as if it was a fact, plain and simple. "Before she was born I was all her father and mother had. With my parents dead Uncle Gerard and Aunt Dasayana were the ones who cared for me and loved me like a son. By the time Codessa was born they had officially adopted me and Uncle Gerard had named me his heir, and even after she arrived nothing much changed. They loved her and cared for her, yes, but as the future CEO of Smithen Inc., I was given more attention, more time. Uncle Gerard groomed me for succession and Aunt Dasayana loved me and treated me like I was her own son, Seven bless her." It was the first time ever Ned saw Kelan express affection for another person. "As she grew older, Codessa started to get jealous of me. I think a part of her even hated me a little." He shrugged, seemingly not bothered by that possibility. "In any case, she certainly wasn't neglected. After all, there was Uncle Symon."

 "I remember him." Ned said. "He was a friend of your uncle."

 Kelan nodded. "They went to business school together, and Uncle Gerard and Aunt Dasayana were rather fond of him. He lived with us up until Codessa was seven and then he left to try and strike it out on his own in Volantis." He drank some coffee. "Unfortunately that didn't work out and he went under. Fortunately for him, Uncle Gerard's door was still open to him and he went back to living with us."

 Ned remembered it all now. He had been seventeen, in his final year of high school, and Gerard Smithen had introduced Symon Johannes to Ned's father Rickon. Gerard raved and raved about him, couldn't praise his old friend enough. But when Ned looked over at Codessa, her eyes had been dead, and it had chilled Ned to the bone. Whenever she was asked about Symon, she gave the vaguest of answers and hardly ever spoke of him unless prompted. "Were they close?"

 Kelan snorted again. "Close? Are you kidding? Symon  _adored_ her. He couldn't bare to have Codessa out of his sight, kind of like a loyal dog who follows his owner around everywhere. He chased away all the boys that came sniffing around, and there certainly were a lot for him to chase." Ned didn't like the tone Kelan used there. Yes Codessa had been popular with boys, but so were plenty of other girls. "He always volunteered to babysit and was always more than willing to take the babysitting duties off my back when I asked. And then he just-" he waved a hand "-vanished. Poof. Gone. Not a hair to be found. Very odd."

 Ned remembered that too. Quite suddenly, Symon had disappeared without a trace. The police had been confident they would find him, but never found anything. No clues, no witnesses, nothing. The night he went missing he had been looking after Codessa while her parents and Kelan were out at a company function. She said she had gone to bed at nine and hadn't woken up until the next day when her father woke her in a panic and asking her if she had seen Symon. She must've told the police that dozens of times. "I'm sorry about that."

 Kelan shrugged. "It was no great loss for me." He admitted. "Codessa was the one he was close to

, he completely ignored me, which I suppose was a welcome change for her." He checked his watch. "I better go." He finished his coffee and stood. "It was nice seeing you again Ned." To Ned's surprise, he appeared to be sincere. "We must do this again sometime."

 Ned nodded and he stood as well, giving their waitress who had just come over to clear up a nice tip. "I'll call if I have a free lunch break." He promised. "Will you be at the airport to see Codessa?"

 "No." Ned had expected that. "I've got a lot of meetings on that day, but do let her know I said 'hello'." And he left without another word.

 Ned left as well and got into his car, but he didn't start it. There was something about Symon's disappearance that sit well with him upon remembering it. It wasn't the disappearance itself, but rather how Codessa had handled it. During the entire investigation, her father and mother were devastated and grief stricken. Her father lost a lot of weight and became gaunt, her mother would randomly break down into fits of sobs. And yet Codessa had remained eerily calm, as if none of it fazed her.

_"Codessa was the one he was close to..."_

 If they had been close, why hadn't Codessa appeared to be more affected by everything? Why had she seemed so uncaring and aloof, so much like Kelan?

  _'They never found anything...she was the only one the house with him...she said she went to bed at nine...none of the neighbors saw a thing...'_

 When the investigation was officially given up and Symon was presumed to be dead, Codessa's mother wailed while being supported by Codessa's father, who looked like he was about to fall apart. And yet, Codessa had been completely impassive...as if she was watching a TV show rather than her own parents...at the time his father said that everyone handles their grief differently, that some react immediately, others later on after a period of shock.

  _'She was the only one in the house with him...'_

For weeks people offered their condolences, but she only nodded with dead, expressionless eyes.

  _"Symon_ adored _her."_

_"He couldn't bare to have Codessa out of his sight."_

_"He chased away all the boys that came sniffing around, and there certainly were a lot for him to chase."_

_'She was the only one in the house with him...'_

The look of Codessa's dead eyes came back to Ned, like a ghost. He shivered. He started the car and drove, eyes fixed on the road...but all he could see were dead, grey-blue eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose this is the part where I say that the plot thickens...but that would be giving it away wouldn't it?


End file.
